by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Branham’s return from February car crash has close-knit Santo squad playing inspired football

Even if you’re a fervent follower of Big Country football (the tipoff being that you consider Wednesday a holiday because that’s when you can peruse the stats for all the area leaders), you might not be aware of the following:

  • The most important rushing feat of 2026 already took place.
  • It happened during the first week of the season.
  • It covered all of 17 yards.
  • And, finally, Santo’s Dillan Branham was the ball carrier.

Don’t bother looking for his name in this week’s statistical roundup. It won’t be there. No matter; after reading this story, regardless of your conventional rooting tendencies, the Santo Wildcats will almost certainly join your roster of favorite teams.

And Branham will definitely become one of your favorite players.

Here’s why …

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Unbeaten Early travels to Hawley (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 55-14, .794
SEASON TOTAL: 165-48, .774

The Early Longhorn have quietly stayed under the radar while posting a 3-0 record thus far, notching wins over Merkel, Breckenridge and Ballinger — the last two of which were quite convincing with scores of 47-18 and 34-0. 

The secret is out, the Longhorns are good.

But in this week’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, not only will Early face its most challenging test thus far at Hawley, but it will likely go into the matchup as a slight underdog. 

At this stage, Hawley has faced a tougher overall schedule, but the Bearcats are at home and they’re more accustomed to big matchups.

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by Daniel Youngblood

MIKE LEE’S WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Stephenville’s Eakin helps Tech rally past Oregon State

Note: If you know of a former Big Country Prep athlete now performing in college or professional sports, contact Mike Lee at michaellee7@att.net.

Coy Eakin led Texas Tech in receiving and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter last Saturday as the nationally ranked Red Raiders rallied past the Oregon State Beavers 35-24 in Corvallis, Oregon.

Eakin, a fifth-year receiver from Stephenville, caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Will Hammond that rallied Texas Tech to a 28-24 lead with 6:31 left in the game. The Red Raiders eventually won 35-24.

Nine Tech players caught passes last week, and the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Eakin led the Red Raiders in receiving with six catches for 79 yards.

Tech, 2-0 and ranked No. 13 in this week’s Associated Press poll, hosts No. 22 Houston (2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday — yes, Friday — on FOX.

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by Evan Ren

AREA VOLLEYBALL STATISICAL LEADERS (through Sept. 16)

Big Country Preps is publishing area volleyball statistical leaders each Wednesday at 7 p.m. throughout the regular season.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches. If your team is missing, please give your coach a friendly reminder to check their email and submit their stats each week by 2 p.m. on Wednesdays. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wall volleyball rallies to beat Jim Ned in four to score big district road win

TUSCOLA — Traveling to Jim Ned with at least a share of the District 5-3A lead on the line, the Wall volleyball team left Bill Thornton Arena with a big road win Tuesday night, digging out of an early hole to score a 23-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-18 victory over the Lady Indians.

Taking advantage of a stellar defensive effort both at the net and on the back row, the Lady Hawks were dominant after the opening game, improving 20-4 overall and 2-0 in league play with the win.

The outcome puts WHS in a first-place tie with San Angelo TLCA (16-10, 2-0) — a half-match ahead of both Jim Ned (21-6, 2-1) and Clyde (14-11, 2-1).

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: High-profile matchups deliver thrilling results in Week 3

With three weeks in the books, the area six-man picture continues to take shape. With a number of high-profile matchups last week, virtually all of which delivered, we were treated slate of games that was both entertaining and edifying.

If you’re a fan of competitive, well-played six-man games, you certainly got your money’s worth in Week 3.

As we do each week here at Big Country Preps, it’s time to take a look at the most compelling matchups and most outstanding individual performances in our “Six-Man Rewind” column. We hope you enjoy this look back at the week that was and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).

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Devan Wright
by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde’s Wright takes this week’s award

It’s still too early to say, but 2026 could be the year of the quarterback in the Big Country. At least it has been that way through three weeks, with Clyde senior Devan Wright taking our latest Big Country Player of the Week award after another eye-popping performance from an area signal caller. 

In the wake of Haskell’s Haegan Pinkerton winning our first two awards with two huge performances in Week 1 and Week 2, Wright followed those up with one of his own in a 57-21 win over Comanche on Friday. 

Helping Clyde improve to 3-0, Wright connected on 12 of 18 throws for 194 yards and four scores. He also rushed nine times for 116 yards and three more TDs, giving him a direct hand in seven touchdowns. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DI WEEK 3 REPORT: Abilene High comes up short against Permian in 2-6 week for district

Odessa Permian 41, Abilene High 29 — The Eagles rallied from a 34-20 fourth-quarter deficit to pull within 34-29 with 3:19 to play, but Kayden Vickers hit Zephaniah Deleon with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 2:01 remaining to lift the Panthers to a hard-fought victory.

AHS, which turned the ball over on downs twice inside the Permian 25-yard line in the second half, was outgained just 426-407, getting big days from quarterback Tristan Beal (15-26-0—269, 4 TDs) and receiver John Rangel (9-204, 2 TDs). But the Eagles (1-2) fell behind 14-0 early in the second quarter and were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Cooper, Wylie pick up wins to highlight 4-3 week for league

Cooper 28, San Angelo Central 21 — Jamarion Dunson’s second rushing touchdown run of the second half broke a 21-all tie with just over two minutes remaining, serving as the winning points for the Cougars in a come-from-behind win over the Bobcats.

Cooper trailed at 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14 in the first half, before shutting Central out in the second half. The Bobcats had an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the final minutes, thanks to a long kickoff return that set them up inside the Cooper 30, but an incomplete pass on a fourth-down play allowed the Coogs (1-2) to celebrate their first victory of the season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 7-2A DI WEEK 3 REPORT: Bangs, Mason and Coleman victorious in 3-3 week for district

Bangs 51, Cross Plains 12 — Ryder Duncan passed for 195 yards and three touchdowns and added a fourth TD rushing to lead the Dragons to a blowout win over the Buffaloes.

Connor Bible just missed 100 yards rushing, finishing with 98 and a score on 15 carries, while Jayton Byler was Bangs’ leading receiver with two catches for 59 yards and a TD.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 3 REPORT: Forsan rolls through Stanton; C-City, Ballinger suffer first losses

Forsan 48, Stanton 22 — Forsan rode an efficient offensive performance and a stellar special teams effort to a comfortable win over Stanton.

FHS (3-0) scored touchdowns on a kickoff return (54 yards by Korbett Worden), a punt return (75 yards by Cole Wyatt) and a fake field goal (33-yard double pass from Owen Bishop to Wyatt) while also getting 134 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, led by Worden with 98 yards and two scores.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Hamilton, Tolar, Dublin and Eastland all pick up first wins

Hamilton 34, Brady 17 — A 21-point second quarter turned the tide for HHS in a 17-point win over the Brady in this battle of Bulldogs.

Trailing 3-0 after a quarter, Hamilton (1-2) rallied to take a 21-10 lead into halftime. Brady then scored the only touchdown of the third quarter to pull within four points, before HHS closed things out with 13 unanswered points in the fourth.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 3-2A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Roscoe falls to Munday; Tahoka and Lockney score wins

Munday 28, Roscoe 6 — The Moguls are officially off to one of their best starts in years at 3-0 and will face area rival Hamlin (2-1) next Friday in one of the area’s better matchups. 

Roscoe has slipped to 0-3.  

The Plowboys will attempt to break into the win column next Friday at Santo (2-1).

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-3A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Coahoma takes down Kermit; Stanton falls to Forsan during 1-5 week for league

Coahoma 34, Kermit 20 — Aiden Rodriguez ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a two touchdown win over the Yellow Jackets. 

Masen Pierce added 62 yards and a TD rushing on just three attempts, while Austin Joslin passed for 152 yards and a score, hitting Lanson Moore six times for 74 yards and that TD.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-3A DI WEEK 3 REPORT: Wall, Early, Ingram Moore stay unbeaten; Llano loses first game

Wall 49, Jim Ned 13 — Gunner King passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns, and Gunner Garza ran for 78 yards and three scores and added a 65-yard reception to lead the Hawks to a thorough win over the Indians.

Hudson Surber also contributed to the win, catching six passes for 140 yards and two TDs, as fifth-ranked Wall (3-0)  raced out to a 28-13 halftime lead before shutting Jim Ned out in the second half.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-4A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Mineral Wells, Graham stay unbeaten; Brock cruises past Midland Christian

Mineral Wells 41, Andrews 7 — Jordan Johnson ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns, and Javon Johnson passed for 193 yards and a score to fuel the Rams to blowout win over the Mustangs.

Mineral Wells, which improve to 3-0 with the win, ran for 302 of its 494 yards, also getting a big rushing day from Aleck Gonzales (14-111, 1 TD), while Barron Burkhall received for 123 yards and a score.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Big Spring, Snyder fall again as league goes 2-4

Sweetwater 42, Big Spring 21 — The Mustangs were too much for the Steers, increasing a 28-7 halftime lead to 35 points in the fourth quarter before settling for a three-touchdown win.

Big Spring, which fell to 0-3, ran for just 23 yards in the loss, getting a team high 30 yards and one TD from Jaylen Cooper. Javon Jackson added 141 yards and two TDs through the air — both to Jaydan Thomas, who caught 10 passes for 136 yards.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 7-2A DII WEEK 3 REPORT: Goldthwaite, Hamlin both notch wins

Goldthwaite 35, San Saba 17 — The Armadillos came to play against their heavily favored archrivals and held a 10-7 lead after one quarter. 

But after Goldthwaite took command with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, the Eagles maintained the upper hand for the rest of the evening. 

Goldthwaite improved to 3-0; San Saba fell to 1-2. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Cooper spoils San Angelo Central’s homecoming with thrilling 28-21 win

SAN ANGELO — The Cooper football team rallied past San Angelo Central for a thrilling 28-21 win Friday at San Angelo Stadium, earning Scott Stewart his first win as a head coach in the process.

The Cougars overcame first-half deficits of 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14 in the victory, outscoring the Bobcats 14-0 over the final two quarters to improve to 1-2.

Cooper, which had outgained each of its first two opponents handily in one-score losses, was outpaced 402 yards to 347 on Friday. But the Coogs defense buckled down when it needed to most, helping facilitate the win with a second-half shutout.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Wylie holds off late rally to down Wolfforth Frenship 28-21

Photos by Mark Rogers, HubCityPreps.com

WOLFFORTH — The Wylie football team dominated Wolfforth Frenship for 3½ quarters Friday, but a late Tiger rally left the Bulldogs holding on for dear life in the closing minutes of a 28-21 victory.

Trailing 28-0 entering the fourth quarter, Frenship scored three touchdowns in the final four minutes to pull within seven before WHS was finally able to close out the win to improve to 2-1.

Wylie lost the turnover battle 3-1 and gave up an onside kick return that allowed the Tigers to score two touchdowns in the span of 19 seconds. But huge days from quarterback Jadin Karleskint (25-21-1—327, 3 TDs passing) and receiver Blaze Ruffin (6-123, 3 TDs receiving) provided the Bulldogs with a big enough cushion to hang on for their second consecutive victory.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Odessa Permian scores late to hold off feisty Abilene High squad 41-29

Abilene High never led in a 41-29 loss to Odessa Permian on Friday at Shotwell Stadium. But the Eagles also never went away despite falling behind by two scores on five occasions — the first at 14-0 just seconds into the second quarter.

After the game, it was the latter fact that had AHS coach Mike Fullen feeling pretty good about his team as it prepares for an open date next week and the start of District 2-5A Division I play in Week 5.

Despite holding a lead from the 6:17 mark of the first quarter onward and extending a 24-13 halftime advantage to 34-20 on a touchdown with just under 10 minutes to play, the Panthers couldn’t put the Eagles away until the game’s final minutes, when Kayden Vickers hit Zephaniah Deleon behind the Warbirds defense for a 13-yard touchdown pass on a critical third-and-10 play.

Before that, AHS had used a safety and a 53-yard scoring pass from Tristan Beal to John Rangel to pull within five points (34-29), putting late-game pressure on a Permian squad that hasn’t felt much during a 3-0 start.

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Unbeaten De Leon passes major test, beating No. 6 Albany 42-7

DE LEON — The general thinking was we’d find out how good a football team the unbeaten De Leon Bearcats were when they played the tradition-rich Albany Lions on Friday night.

This just in. The Bearcats are good. Really good.

Lane Couch rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns, quarterback Hud Price passed for two TDs, and De Leon’s defense continued to shut down opponents as the Bearcats beat the Albany Lions 42-7 at Bearcat Field.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Haskell rallies from two-score deficit in fourth quarter to edge Santo in Big Country classic

Haskell’s Haegen Pinkerton delivers a third-quarter pass in Friday’s 44-42 win at Santo

SANTO — Imagine an early September non-district game that was so intense, so emotional, that there were tears shed by multiple players in its aftermath. 

As multiple Santo players wept following a 44-42 loss to Haskell in the Big Country Preps Game of the Week, a group of jubilant Indians were dumping a cooler of ice water on the head of Haskell coach Creighton Henderson — almost as if their victory had come in Arlington instead of at W.A. Lewis Field. 

But following a game that had produced six lead changes to go with a third-quarter tie, the emotional scene seemed to fit the circumstances, though nothing was really gained or lost prior to the onset of district play. 

Haskell’s Haegen Pinkerton, who has already won the Big Country Preps Player of the Week award twice this season, again put in a huge performance with 217 yards rushing, 157 yards passing and a direct hand in five touchdowns to lead Haskell (2-1) which entered Friday’s game with a slight chip on its shoulder. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wilson, defense power Early to shutout win over Ballinger on homecoming

EARLY — Ballinger head coach Bryan Gayoso and Early head coach Marvin Wilson have been friends for as long as they can remember and have even spent time working on the same coaching staffs as each other.

Friday night at Longhorn Stadium, the two faced off against each other as head coaches for the first time.

By the time the dust settled on the Longhorns’ homecoming, Early had laid claim to a 34-0 win and improved to 3-0 for the first time in five years while the Bearcats fell to 2-1.

Both coaches relished the opportunity to match wits with one another.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Veteran Abilene High linebacking corps a driving force behind early defensive success

Starting the year with six new starters on defense, Abilene High coach Mike Fullen knew there’d be a learning curve for that unit.

But with three of the five returners in his signature 3-4 scheme being senior linebackers, the coach also knew his defense was starting its building process on a strong foundation.

In inside linebackers Skyler Faimoa and Symmani Strahan and outside backer Levon Koonce, the Eagles have a trio of veteran playmakers with an abundance of varsity experience and a track record of production in the AHS scheme. Add in junior outside backer Jud Williamson, the son of defensive coordinator James Williamson, and you have one of the better linebacking corps in West Texas.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Unbeaten Santo to face one of the area’s top weapons (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)

LAST WEEK: 55-15, .785
SEASON TOTAL: 110-34, .763

Out Big Country Preps Game of the Week pairs what might be the area’s most improved team (Santo, 2-0) against one its top offensive weapons in Haskell QB Haegen Pinkerton, who with 544 yards rushing and 434 yards passing, has already won our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award twice this season. 

The Indians are a modest 1-1 on the year, but have already put up 124 points with Pinkerton accounting for 978 yards in total offense. Nonetheless, Santo has allowed just 13 total points in wins over Chilton and Dublin, and if they get their flexbone offense rolling, can effectively keep Pinkerton and company off of the field. 

That, will be the key element in keeping the Indians at bay, but Pinkerton will get his share of big plays. 
Regardless, the Wildcats will get the higher number of defensive stops and improve to 3-0. 

PICK: Santo by 10

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